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McKinsey: These Technologies Will Disrupt And Change Our Future

The McKinsey Global Institute released a report on Disruptive technologies. The report discusses the advances in technology and innovation that will transform life, business, and the global economy.

The immediate few facts that caught our eye was the rapid advancement of technology in perspective:

- $5 million vs. $400: Price of the fastest supercomputer in 19751 and an iPhone 4 with equal performance
- $2.7 billion, 13 years: Cost and duration of the Human Genome Project, completed in 2003
- 300,000: Miles driven by Google’s autonomous cars with only one accident (human error)
- 3x Increase in efficiency of North American gas wells between 2007 and 2011
- 85% Drop in cost per watt of a solar photovoltaic cell since 200

And then the potential, or here's what McKinsey sees in 2025:

- 2–3 billion More people with access to the Internet in 2025
- $5–7 trillion Potential economic impact by 2025 of automation of knowledge work
- $100, 1 hour Cost and time to sequence a human genome in the next decade2
- 1.5 million Driver-caused deaths from car accidents in 2025, potentially addressable by autonomous vehicles
- 100–200% Potential increase in North American oil production by 2025, driven by hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling
- 16% Potential share of solar and wind in global electricity generation by 20253